Nigeria's army says that 178 people who had been held captive by Boko Haram, an Islamist militant group, were rescued in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state on Sunday.
"During the offensive operations, 178 people held captive by the terrorists were rescued. They include 101 children, 67 women and 10 men," Colonel Tukur Gusau, a military spokesman, said in an emailed statement to Reuters. It is not known whether the schoolgirls from Chibok who were abducted by Boko Haram in April 2014 were among those rescued.
The captives were set free on Sunday near Aulari, about 40 miles south from the capital of Borno State. Spokesman Colonel Sani Usman says captives will be reunited with their families after security checks, according to Associated French Press (AFP).
"The military operation... will continue until the terrorists are totally subdued. For now, we have besieged the forest and military operations are going on from different fronts," Usman told AFP.
The same rescue operation in northeastern Borno state resulted in the capture of a Boko Haram commander, according to the military.
President Muhammadu Buhari was elected in March 2015 partly because of his agenda to drive out Boko Haram. An armed force of 8,700 troops from Chad, Cameroon, Benin, and Nigeria was being organized to fight against Boko Haram. Operations with this force were to begin on July 31 initially but have been delayed due to lack of finances.
It has been 6 years since Boko Haram had begun to operate violently to establish an Islamist state in the northeast region of Nigeria.
